Scotland dominates list of UK property hotspots in 2018

Glasgow and Edinburgh have seen house prices rise faster than any other major UK town or city in 2018, according to Housesimple.com.

Using the latest HM Land Registry data, the online estate agents looked at average house price growth in more than 100 major UK towns and cities since the start of 2018 to September 2018.

It found that property prices in Glasgow increased 9.1% from £126,016 at the beginning of 2018 to £137,507 in September. Edinburgh, meanwhile, saw average house prices rise 9% from £242,807 to £264,745 during the same period. Newport in Wales completed the top three, with house prices up on average 8.6% in 2018. The mini property boom in the city in south west Wales is likely due to the announcement late last year that the tolls on the Severn Bridge would be scrapped this month.

The top property hotspot in England was Wolverhampton, with average house prices up 7.9% in 2018, followed by Salford in the north west of England, which has seen house prices rise 7.4% this year. Average house prices across the UK have risen 3.6% in 2018, from £224,502 to £232,554. Despite price growth slowing across London in recent months, there are a number of boroughs that have still seen positive growth this year, with average property values in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea up 10.1%.

Meanwhile, property ‘not-spots’ across the UK include Watford, where house prices have dropped 9% since the start of 2018, and the City of Westminster, where average prices are down 9.7% this year. Sam Mitchell, chief executive officer of Housesimple.com, commented: “There’s been a great deal of focus on the housing market cooling off in recent months, but it might surprise some people to know that our research shows that average house prices are actually higher than they were at the start of the year in more than 80% of major UK towns and cities.”

He said that while low stock levels will be cited as the reason that house prices remain at the level they are, that would be doing a ‘disservice’ to a property market that has proved resilient amidst some strong economic headwinds this year. “We are now coming into a traditionally quiet period for property transactions, which was expected to be quieter as a result of the Brexit vote,” he continued. “Now it’s been postponed, we could see a few more sellers and buyers taking the opportunity to progress and complete transactions before the New Year.”